Plans laid for community centre future

Dromore Community Centre looks set to turn itself ‘inside out’ in the quest to improve provision, this as plans are being laid in a bid to ensure its longer-term development.

First up is a proposed new outdoor gym, the Public Health Agency having already offered Banbridge District Council £15,000 of the £20,000 total cost.

Meanwhile, however, councillors are reportedly formulating a business plan - involving, the Leader understands, projected costs in excess of £500,000 - to put the centre as near as possible to the front of the funding queue when the new Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon supercouncil gets fully up and running.

Nearing the end of its own race, the district council shows no sign of slackening the pace with the finish line in sight and is eager to press ahead with the outdoor gym.

At a recent meeting of the council’s Leisure and Development Committee it was reported that, following a Public Health Agency invitation to submit a business case for an outdoor gym facility in the Dromore Community Centre grounds, the agency offered £15,000 towards the costs of equipment purchase.

Councillors heard how the proposed project would extend the service to centre customers, both casual users and in the expanding ‘boot camp’ exercise market, while installation costs and marketing could be met from within this year’s existing centre budget.

The committee recommended the council accept the PHA funding offer and immediately begin to procure and install equipment to ensure the project was completed within the current financial year.

Dromore Ulster Unionist Councillor Carol Black welcomed plans to complete the project in the current financial year as the provision of the outdoor gym would extend the service to customers, she said.

The outdoor gym is one aspect of an overall plan envisaged for the Community Centre, a plan believed to involve the extention of the existing indoor gym as well as improvements to changing rooms and outdoor pitches.

Dromore DUP Councillor Paul Rankin would say only that: “The council is working on a business plan for Dromore Community Centre to present to the new supercouncil for consideration as part of the capital programme.”